PAYD vs MELI Stock Comparison

Paid and Mercadolibre Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PAYD Paid Inc
$2.20 -8.7% 1M -26.7% 1Y
Market cap
$18.65M
P/E
147.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$22.10M
Div. yield
–
E-commerce Software Technology
MELI Mercadolibre Inc
$1,668.72 -4.8% 1M -22.8% 1Y
Market cap
$85.42B
P/E
45.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.18B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
8 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Mercadolibre leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Mercadolibre 8). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPAYDMELILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.65M $85.42B MELI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 147.0x 45.9x MELI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 41.2x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.6% +46.0% MELI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.6% 5.3% MELI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 11.7% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.7% -22.8% MELI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.8%/yr +2.2%/yr MELI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.4% 41.1% MELI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 62/100 MELI

Percentile Scorecard

PAYDMELI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisPAYDMELI
Valuation 40 #101 of 167 52 #80 of 167
Growth 57 #66 of 153 79 #33 of 153
Profitability 50 #77 of 153 86 #23 of 153
Financial Health 43 #102 of 179 33 #120 of 179
Shareholder Returns 29 #67 of 94 –
Overall 44 62
  • PAYD ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • MELI ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodPAYDMELISPY
1 month -8.7%-4.8% -0.8%
3 months -10.6%-8.3% +3.5%
6 months -6.0%-9.3% +7.0%
Year to date -26.4%-17.2% +12.2%
1 year -26.7%-22.8% +13.0%
3 years +29.4%+39.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.0%+11.6% +23.1%
5 years -13.0%+11.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.8%+2.2% +11.0%
10 years —+877.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+25.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasurePAYDMELISPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.4%41.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 120.1%44.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.041.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.46-0.55 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.4%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-29.3% -1.8%
52-week high $3.30$2,360.76 $779.14
52-week low $1.95$1,546.81 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultiplePAYDMELI
P/E now vs peer median 147.0xmedian 17.5x 45.4xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.4x 2.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 271.8xmedian 14.5x 20.7xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 66.0xmedian 12.1x 6.8xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.7x 10.8xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -4.51median 0.41 1.29median 0.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsPAYDMELI
Revenue $22.10M $35.18B
Gross profit $4.71M $15.01B
Operating income -$229.23K $2.91B
Net income $128.94K $1.86B
Free cash flow $282.66K $12.41B
R&D – $2.58B
EPS (diluted) $0.02 $36.75
Cash & equivalents $1.08M $3.65B
Total debt – $10.63B
Shares (diluted) 8.55M 50.70M
Enterprise value $14.36M $61.45B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricPAYDMELI
P/E 147.0x 45.4x
P/FCF 66.0x 6.8x
P/Operating cash flow 65.3x 6.1x
P/S 0.8x 2.4x
P/B 3.3x 10.8x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 10.8x
EV/EBITDA 271.8x 20.7x
EV/EBIT -76.7x 30.8x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 2.5x
EV/FCF 62.2x 7.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 61.5x 6.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.51 1.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAYDMELI
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.6% 46.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 41.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.0% 35.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.7% 33.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 75.8% -2.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.3% 18.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 115.1% -9.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -31.1% 35.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 114.7% -9.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -32.6% 35.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 140.0% 64.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.2% 45.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 142.3% 68.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.5% 44.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAYDMELI
Gross margin 21.3% 42.7%
EBITDA margin 0.3% 12.3%
Operating margin -1.0% 8.3%
Pretax margin -0.5% 7.4%
Net margin 0.6% 5.3%
FCF margin 1.3% 35.3%
Operating cash flow margin 1.3% 39.5%
Return on equity 2.3% 24.7%
Return on assets 1.5% 3.8%
Return on invested capital – 11.7%
Return on capital employed -3.6% 22.8%
Asset turnover 2.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 7.5x
Stock comp / revenue 2.2% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAYDMELI
Debt / assets – 20.7%
Debt / equity – 1.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.1x
Debt / FCF – 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 32.5% 84.7%
Equity / assets 67.5% 15.3%
Interest coverage – 13.7x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -4.92 2.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAYDMELI
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 0.0% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusPAYDMELI
Forward P/E – 41.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $40.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +2.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +42.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $39.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +36.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +45.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAYDMELI
Held by institutions – 77.8%
Institutions holding – 1,438
Change in shares held, QoQ – +3.5%
Institutions buying – 714
Institutions selling – 525
Buyers to sellers – 1.36

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

PAYDMELI
PAYD 1.00 0.12
MELI 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAYD and MELI?

Mercadolibre (MELI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paid (PAYD) $18.65M, Mercadolibre (MELI) $85.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAYD and MELI?

Mercadolibre (MELI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paid (PAYD) 147.0x, Mercadolibre (MELI) 45.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mercadolibre (MELI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paid (PAYD) +12.6%, Mercadolibre (MELI) +46.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mercadolibre (MELI) has the highest net margin (Paid (PAYD) 0.6%, Mercadolibre (MELI) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mercadolibre (MELI) returned the most: Paid (PAYD) -26.7%, Mercadolibre (MELI) -22.8%. Over five years, Mercadolibre (MELI) compounded fastest (Paid (PAYD) -2.8%/yr, Mercadolibre (MELI) +2.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mercadolibre (MELI) has been the steadiest (Paid (PAYD) 58.4%, Mercadolibre (MELI) 41.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do PAYD and MELI move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.12, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, PAYD and MELI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mercadolibre (MELI) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.